The Eye of a Dragon

Totally normal pond

Near Šibenik, the town of King Peter Kresimir IV, in Rogoznica, on the Gradina peninsula, there is a very ordinary, not too large lake called the Eye of a Dragon. The lake is salty, surrounded by rocks between 4 and 24 meters high, with an area of ??only 10,000 m2. Its maximum depth is 15 meters, while it is connected to the sea by a cave of the appropriate name The Ear of a Dragon.

Other parts of the dragon’s head have not yet been discovered in the area, but several legends about the lake itself have been discovered, of course, with the dragons.

The legend of two brothers, one of whom was blind and the other greedy

As is usually the case in stories and legends, there used to be two brothers living near where the lake is today. One good and one good only until the inheritance was about to be distributed. To make the legend more interesting, that good brother was also blind.

The two brothers lived in harmony until it was time to share the family heirloom. The legend does not say when it was, but it can be assumed that it was at the time when both their parents died.

Due to the blind brother’s apparent handicap, the better-sighted brother has taken on the task of distributing the family heritage. For some unknown reason, the blind brother became very distrustful and, in order to secure himself from possible malfeasance, he cast curse by saying, “If you have not justly divided, let everything be turned into a lake.”

His distrust was clearly justified as the lake really appeared at that place.

What happened next with the brothers is unknown, but it is known that dragons are very fond of valuables and can sense the treasure over long distances. It so happens that one of the many dragons that lived a long time ago, felt that the lake was something special and had moved into it illegally.

It is quite difficult to get a dragon out of the place he chooses, which requires a young, brave and very skilled hero, who was not around. In the meantime, the dragon became quite strong and brave, and soon began to demand from the local villagers every year the most beautiful girl and the thickest sheep.

What happened to the dragon has not yet been revealed. It is a reasonable assumption that a young and well-armed hero has come and rescued villagers of his unreasonable demands.

The legend of dragon Murin

Another legend is about a very specific dragon whom we even know the name, parents and address of the residence. The address is the castle on the island of Velika Smokvica and its name was Murin. His parents were the gods Poseidon and Hera meaning he was an illegitimate child because Hera was the wife of the god Zeus.

Murin ruled the city – state of Heraclesia that spread in this area and protected the inhabitants from the invaders as no one was crazy enough to invade the area guarded by the dragon. As a wage for protection, the inhabitants of Heraclesia gave him the most beautiful girl for his wife on the summer solstice every year. In order not to think that the dragon is polygamous and has gathered quite a harem in the castle, it is important to note that none of the girls survived the first wedding night.

Young, brave and well-armed hero Aristoles, the great-grandson of the much better known Argonaut Jason put an end to that cooperation. Aristoles was armed with a spear forged by the goddess Athena with the help of the blacksmith Hephaestus. Probably the best blacksmith of his time as he forged weapons and equipment for other gods. Athens forged a spear of moon dust.

Such an hero inevitably goes with an adequate horse. The only creature worthy enough to carry him into battle is the winged horse Pegasus. On it, Aristoles flew to Heraclesia, probably by a completely different job. Unfortunately for the dragon, Aristoles fatally fell in love with the girl who was supposed to be handed to Murin that year. Such a situation inevitably led to conflict.

Aristoles rode up to the dragon’s court and challenged him to a duel for the heart of a pretty girl whose name, unfortunately, we couldn’t find out. The duel was held on the Gradina peninsula in today’s Rogoznica.

The duel lasted indefinitely long and in the presence of an unknown number of visitors. What is next known is that Aristoles mortally wounded Murin and thus claimed victory. The dragon, in anger over the defeat and soon ending of his reign caused by death, dug his eyes and threw one far behind the island of Mljet, while the other slipped and fell under his feet, melting the stone and creating a recess. This depression was later filled by the sea, thus creating The Eye of a Dragon lake, which was named after the way it was created.

Dragons are creatures of very powerful magical energy, so that part of this magic is poured into the lake, so it has the ability to give eternal love to a loving couple who bathes in it. The couple will also stay together forever (this may need to be understood with a certain amount of skepticism since it has not been explained how death affects the couple in love) and their children will be healthy and numerous.

So all of you who are unsure of your love and want to stay together forever, your solution is called The Eye of a Dragon.

The background of everything

There is some truth in every legend. Here are some unusual features that encouraged these two, and, I hope, you to visit this place.

Every few years, The Eye of a Dragon turns into a real hell. The water blurs, boils and kills all living beings who have not escaped into the sea through The Ear of a Dragon. Like in any real hell, the scent of sulfur spreads around. This event is called the Awakening of the Dragon.

After the lake clears, the living world returns and continues to live its course until the next apocalypse.

This phenomenon is called water column overturning or anoxia.

The bottom of the lake is full of sulfides that dissolve in the water. When the surface of the lake cools rapidly, this heavy water sinks to the bottom as warmer water rises to the surface and binds all the oxygen by the way. This destroys all the aerobic living world, and bubbles and the smell of sulfur appear on the surface.

Something extraordinary

Also interesting is the fact that animals in the lake are much larger than members of the same species that live in the sea. Because of this interesting feature, fishermen sometimes throw their catch in the lake and pick it up the next year when it grows.

Pozadinska slika: Виктория Бородинова from Pixabay